Women outperform in credit scores but leave an advantage on the table
Women are making significant strides in asset ownership. Recently published Standard Bank data shows that they are increasingly buying homes and vehicles. Now, additional insights from the Bank’s Credit Score feature suggest that this growth is also supported by their stronger credit profiles.
While the Standard Bank app has more female users overall, men are installing and using the Credit Score feature more often.
“Our Credit Score feature continues to see strong growth in both installations and usage frequency, but more so among men. The surprising twist is that, despite lower adoption, women outperform men on credit scores,” says Shené Mothilal, Solution Owner of Digital Money Manager at Standard Bank.
Standard Bank’s credit data sheds some light on why women often have higher credit scores. Although more women are purchasing assets like homes and cars compared to a decade ago, they generally take on less credit than men.
Around 70% of female homebuyers purchase properties valued under R1.5 million, and in 2025, the average property price for female main applicants was R1.3 million, lower than the R1.7 million average among other home loan clients. In vehicle finance, women’s average spend has historically been lower and was 6.5% less than men’s in 2025.
The same trend applies to unsecured credit, where women’s average outstanding balances are 8.45% lower than those of male clients.
But fewer women track their credit scores
Despite managing credit more responsibly, fewer women actively track their credit scores. Only 42% of users who’ve installed Standard Bank’s Credit Score feature are women, even though the app has a higher proportion of female users. This means women are checking their creditworthiness less often than men, potentially missing out on insights that could further strengthen their financial position.
Across both genders, credit scores tend to improve with age, with customers in their 20s showing the lowest scores. “This trend reflects that at a younger age; customers haven’t fully acquired the knowledge to manage their credit and don’t have much credit history. With age, we see growing financial knowledge and better credit management over time. We’ve also observed that customers with higher income generally do have better credit scores,” says Mothilal.
She adds that this could signal that higher earners generally rely less on credit for daily expenses and use it more strategically to build wealth. But interestingly, customers earning between R10,000 and R20,000 a month tend to have the lowest average scores, possibly due to heavier reliance on credit for necessities.
Why women should use this tool more
Women already have stronger credit profiles, now it’s time to leverage that edge. Standard Bank’s Credit Score feature is more than just a number. It offers practical, personalised tips for improvement. It also allows customers to track their progress without triggering a credit bureau inquiry – something that can negatively affect scores when done too often.
Standard Bank’s Credit Score feature offers personalised tips and progress tracking without affecting your score. “The best part is that it helps customers improve their scores, making it easier to access credit and finance major assets, Women already have stronger credit profiles, now it’s time to leverage that edge,” says Mothilal.
With growing momentum in asset ownership, more frequent credit score monitoring could help women unlock even better rates and opportunities.